Abstract
William James, concerned with the issue of the applicability of traditional religious virtues to modern society, argues for the significance of ascetic virtues in general and voluntary poverty in particular, not least because of their contribution to the actualization of benevolence. Examining and evaluating his account uncovers the ways in which James is a virtue theorist, some distinctive characteristics of religious virtues, and both the possibilities and difficulties in any modern defense of a traditional virtue that appears as odd as does voluntary poverty